Grand Schemes
by Wolf-Maiden Mitsuki
Summary: Rewritten, formerly "Chance Encounter". Kyoya Otori is walking the streets of Tokyo, contemplating the short-sightedness of those around him. Along the way, he realizes something about himself. One of the other members of the Host Club makes an appearance as well. No pairing.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ouran High School Host Club or the characters found therein. I write for pleasure, not profit. Thank you.

**Author Note:** This is a rewrite of a one-shot from a couple of years ago, formerly titled "Chance Encounter". I hope I didn't make Kyoya or Haruhi too OOC, but if I did, I apologize. The ending also seems a bit abrupt to me.

Any suggestions about how I could improve it are appreciated.

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**Grand Schemes**

- An Ouran HS Club one-shot –

* * *

It was Sunday. Soft rain was falling from the overcast, blue-gray sky.

All around him, people hurried back and forth under the shelter of bright umbrellas. Kyoya, by contrast, walked slowly. He wasn't like these other people. They all had places to go, errands to run, and friends or loved ones to visit – but it all paled in comparison to the goals that danced on the edge of his consciousness every moment of the day. Wrapped up in their own little worlds, they spent the entirely of their lives riding the waves of their emotions and desires. They could never see the grand schemes and plans that unfolded around them.

He meant to dominate his own because unlike them, he had ambition. He spent his day within the confines of his analytical mind. His thoughts were ever in a constant flux of gauging, weighing, and postulating. His life was a constant struggle for excellence.

_They're unable to see the forest for the trees. I see the trees, the forest, and the land beyond_. Kyoya mused, walking along with his stately black umbrella leaning on his shoulder. _How can they stand living so shallowly?_

Didn't they want more? Couldn't they see the possibilities all around them?

No, they did not...could not see them. He would do it instead and take advantage. He would think of what others could do for him, because they couldn't see what they could be doing for themselves. Their loss was his gain, as it should be. That was fair. However, if it _was_ fair, why should they seem so satisfied with their lot, and he so miserable with his?

It was an uncomfortable question.

The day his father struck him amidst the throng of people at school - the day Haruhi stood up for him - was the day Kyoya realized that his father could not see the big picture that he was creating. Adjusting his glasses, Kyoya picked up his pace just as the rain began falling harder. Along the roads, the gutters had quickly turned to muddy, filth-ridden streams. The hems of his slacks were soon wet from the water splashing up from the sidewalk. He frowned with the knowledge that he should've allowed his driver to take him to his destination immediately, instead of letting him out a few blocks away so that he could walk.

He'd wanted some time to clear his mind after school before heading home to his plans, balance sheets, and homework assignments – things essential to the reaching of his goals, but incomprehensible to the man that mattered most. Kyoya's dissatisfaction merged into another emotion: sadness.

If he did not reach the car soon, he would be late for dinner, and his father hated when he was late. When he was late, his father assumed he was wasting time pursuing frivolous things, like the Host Club. Kyoya hated making his father angry. Each time he did, it gave his father another reason to look down on him, another reason to ignore the grand scheme at play. When he made his father angry, it smarted of failure - and failure was unacceptable.

_Sadness is unacceptable._ Kyoya told himself. _I've been given a golden opportunity to show my father my worthiness as an heir to the family legacy. I will make him see my greatness. I will not give in to this sadness because there is nothing to gain from it. Nothing at all. Self-pity only makes things worse._

Yes, he could feel it receding from him. Emotions could be beneficial at times, but now was not that time. Right now, he needed focus and results. He needed to get home; he needed to finish his reports. Sadness got in the way of such things. Better to bury it deep down and compartmentalize it. He had a cell phone. He would call his driver to come pick him up. In the meantime, he would stop hurrying along, getting wetter for all his trouble and remain calm.

Digging in his pants pocket, Kyoya drew the electronic device from inside. Flipping it open, he dialed the car's number and moved closer to the wall of a nearby shop, out of the way of the others still scurrying around him. but someone crashed into him at that very second and his cell phone went flying across the pavement and into a puddle.

Knocked sideways, Kyoya managed to brace himself against the building behind him, but lost his umbrella in the process. A bag of groceries fell to the ground as well, spilling its contents on the sidewalk.

"Of all the damned, foolish-" He muttered, taking hold of the offending person and glaring at them. Brown sienna stared back at him, filled with apology and recognition.

"Kyoya-sempai?" Haruhi said, then remembered herself. "Oh, gosh, I'm sorry I ran into you like that...it started to rain while I was in the grocery store. So I hurried to get everything I needed, but then the rain got harder and I thought I heard thunder. So I was trying to get home before the storm got worse, but-"

"Haruhi," Kyoya said, letting her go and reaching down to gather his umbrella, and then his ruined cell phone, "do you realize that your irrational fear of thunderstorms has cost me my cell phone?"

Turning, he produced the device and showed her. The screen was scuffed and blank, ruined. "I was trying to call my car to come pick me up when you collided with me. Now, not only am I going to be late for dinner, but I'm going to need a new phone as well."

"Well, I'm going to need new groceries. So let's just call it even." Haruhi retorted, ignoring him and doing her best to gather the remains of her packaged goods.

"You know things will never be even between the two of us, Haruhi. Not the way you keep landing yourself in debt." Kyoya sighed, stepping forward and holding his umbrella over the both of them. "I'm officially adding the cost of my cell phone to the balance you owe the Host Club..."

With a groan, Haruhi stopped gathering groceries and looked up at him. Her eyes as well as her tone gave voice to her indignation.

"That's not fair, Kyoya-sempai!" she whined. "How was I supposed to know it was you? Can't you just chalk this up to a genuine accident?"

Kyoya shook his head and then held out his hand. "No. I'm afraid not, Haruhi. A debt is a debt...and you'll begin paying it back by letting me use your cell phone to call my driver."

"Fine. Why not lend me the money to buy new groceries and add that to my debt too." She muttered, taking her pink phone out of her pocket and handing it him. "'Cause half of this stuff is ruined."

Taking the device from her hand, Kyoya gave Haruhi the once-over and saw she was unequipped to finished walking home. The silly girl hadn't thought to bring an umbrella. Yet another person in this world that failed to think ahead when it would've been beneficial.

"Kyoya-sempai..."

"Please be quiet, Haruhi. The phone's ringing..." Kyoya said, cutting her off and turning away. "As I'm already late, I might as well take you home."


End file.
